You've survived the housing crisis. Now it's time to get the most out of your investment. For energy-independence and do-it-yourself repairs, here are some new tools to help you get the job done.

It's happened to all of us: You're knee-deep in a project, driving one screw after another, and you run down one battery before the second battery is charged. Craftsman's Nextec Quick Boost Charger solves that problem. It brings a dead battery up to 25 percent of charge in just three minutes, and the company says that's enough charge to drive 70 1-1/4-inch screws. The charger works on any battery in the 12-volt Nextec product line. Price is still pending. http://www.craftsman.com/

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Booster Rocket

It's happened to all of us: You're knee-deep in a project, driving one screw after another, and you run down one battery before the second battery is charged. Craftsman's Nextec Quick Boost Charger solves that problem. It brings a dead battery up to 25 percent of charge in just three minutes, and the company says that's enough charge to drive 70 1-1/4-inch screws. The charger works on any battery in the 12-volt Nextec product line. Price is still pending. http://www.craftsman.com/

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Generating Interest

People who go off the grid often have to cobble together a solution for backup power when the wind doesn't blow reliably or the sun isn't shining with enough intensity to generate electricity. Generac's EcoGen 6-kw generator is designed for off-grid applications. Fueled by propane, its OHV engine is designed for extended run with a pressurized (automotive style) oil recirculation system. It comes factory-wired to hook up to a 120-volt inverter but can be reconfigured for 240 volts. Its estimated price is $3750. http://www.generac.com/

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Running Hot and Cold

We have to hand it to Lennox for planning ahead. With the current interest in solar and all things green, why not design an integrated heat pump/air-conditioning system designed to work with solar panels? That's exactly what the company did with its SunSource Home Energy System. You can mount one to 15 solar modules on your house's roof and use it to provide power to the home's heating/cooling system or to power other electrical loads. Each of the system's solar panels uses a micro-inverter, rather than a single inverter, and the heat pump/air conditioner comes from the factory “solar-ready,” according to Lennox, so no field alterations are necessary, simplifying and speeding installation and wiring. With two SunSource solar modules and Dave Lennox Signature heating/cooling equipment, the system would cost about $10,000. http://www.lennox.com/

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Overhead Air Cleaner

Smog-Eating Tile is concrete roofing with a mineral catalyst embedded in its upper layer. Its manufacturer, Boral Roofing, claims that the tile's surface acts as a catalyst to speed up oxidation of air pollutants, converting nitrogen oxide into a residue that collects on the roof's surface and is washed off with the next rainfall. The company says that one 2000-sq-ft. roof can, in a year's time, remove the same amount of nitrogen oxide produced by a car driven 10,800 miles. Price is pending. http://www.monierlifetile.com/

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Paslode's Engineered Lumber Nail

Engineered lumber is great stuff—until you try to drive a pneumatic nail into it. Partially driven nails are a fact of life when you're dealing with this building material. Paslode's Engineered Lumber Nail (about $40 for 1000) has a coating and a shape to help it sink into engineered lumber without you having to finish the job with your framing hammer. http://www.paslode.com/

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Ripping Good Time

Rockwell's 10-inch job-site table saw is designed for any eventuality that might occur on a construction site, during a remodeling job or while building a deck. It's got a 30-in. fence capacity, allowing it to rip a sheet of plywood in half. Its blade extends up to 3-9/16 in. above the table, allowing it to cut a 4 x 4 in one pass—certainly not something you do every day on a table saw, but a helpful feature nonetheless. If you equip the saw with the Rockwell Finisher accessory ($130), you can plane the saw marks of a piece of lumber up to 3-1/8 in. thick and 11 in. wide. The saw itself costs $350. http://www.rockwelltools.com

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